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Gravel bike tire clearance chart: what the brands actually state

Published 24 September 2026

Disclosure: Pedal Brief may earn a commission if you buy through links on this page, at no extra cost to you. This version has no affiliate links. We have not measured any of these frames. Every figure comes from the bike maker's own page, linked in the table. Full disclosures.

Who it's for: gravel riders comparing frames, or checking whether a wider tire will fit the bike they already own.

Tire clearance is the most copied spec in gravel, and the copies drift. While researching this page we found third-party lists that gave a frame more clearance than its maker does. So this chart has one rule: a number only goes in if the brand states it on its own site. Where the brand gives no number, we leave the model out.

Checked 24 September 2026.

Three kinds of clearance number

Brands mean different things by "clearance," and the difference is several millimetres.

• Stated max tire width. The widest tire the brand says you should fit. The safety margin is already taken off. This is the number to shop with.
• Measured tire width. Some brands say their figure is the tire's measured width on the rim, not the size printed on the sidewall. Cannondale says this outright for the Topstone: "Measured size, of course." (Cannondale) A tire sold as 50 mm can measure wider on a wide rim, so a measured-width figure is stricter than it looks.
• Frame clearance. A few brands also publish the raw space in the frame. That is not a tire size. Cervélo's support page for the first Áspero lists a maximum tire width of 43 mm (700c) but a frame tire clearance of 53 mm. (Cervélo) Use the first number, not the second.

Cervélo explains why the gap exists: rim width, tire casing and tread depth all change the final fit, and it recommends 4 mm of clearance between tire and frame. (Cervélo) Canyon states the same idea as "4 mm ISO clearance" for the Grail. (Canyon)

The chart

"Type" says what the brand's figure is, in the brand's own terms. "Stated max" means the brand gives a maximum tire size without saying how it was measured.

Two Cervélo Áspero pages give different maximums (40 mm and 43 mm). They appear to describe different versions of the frame. We could not confirm from Cervélo which model years each page covers. Check the page that matches your frame, or ask Cervélo.

How to read the conditions column

The headline number often comes with a condition. Three show up again and again.

1x versus 2x. A front derailleur and a second chainring take space next to the chainstay. Giant's Revolt drops from 53 mm to 45 mm with 2x. (Giant) Cannondale's Topstone Carbon drops from 52 mm to 45 mm. (Cannondale) Canyon says the Grail's 57 mm needs a 1x groupset. (Canyon) If you run 2x, read the smaller number.

Flip chips and adjustable dropouts. Giant's Revolt has a two-position dropout. The long position fits 53 mm, the short one 45 mm with 1x. (Giant) A used bike could be set either way.

Mudguards. Orbea lists 50C on the Terra, or 45C with mudguards. (Orbea) Most brands in this chart did not state a mudguard figure.

Specific components. Cervélo notes that Shimano's road (not gravel) 12-speed front derailleurs reduce rear clearance on the Áspero. (Cervélo) Other brands may have similar limits they do not list.

650b wheels. A smaller rim diameter leaves more room around the tire, so some brands list a wider 650b figure. Cervélo gives 700c x 40 mm or 650b x 49 mm for the Áspero, and Specialized lists 650b x 2.1 in for the previous Crux. (Cervélo, Specialized) Most brands in this chart state a 700c figure only. Do not assume a 650b size fits unless the brand lists one.

Before you buy a wider tire

1. Find your exact generation. "Diverge" and "Crux" each cover several frame generations with different clearance. Specialized's older Crux frameset page says 47 mm; the Crux 5 page says 55 mm. (Specialized, Specialized)
2. Use the smaller of frame and fork. Cannondale lists different figures for the Topstone frame and fork. The frame is the limit.
3. Check your drivetrain and dropout setting against the conditions column.
4. Allow for your rim. Cervélo names rim width as a variable. (Cervélo) A wider rim spreads the tire. In Bicycle Rolling Resistance's rim width test, 35 to 40 mm gravel tires grew about 0.3 mm in width for every 1 mm of extra internal rim width. (Bicycle Rolling Resistance) On a wide gravel rim, a tire can measure wider than its sidewall size.
5. Leave room for mud. Brands state clearance for a clean tire. Cervélo recommends 4 mm between tire and frame. (Cervélo)
6. Set pressure for the new width. A wider tire needs less air for the same feel. Our tire pressure calculator takes the 40 to 57 mm widths in this chart and gives front and rear figures in psi and bar. Above 37 mm it extrapolates beyond Frank Berto's original chart, and it tells you so. Our gravel tire pressure guide has starting points for 38 to 45 mm.
7. If the brand gives no number, ask the brand. A forum post saying a size fits is one bike, one rim and one tire.

What we could not confirm

• Differences from third-party lists. A secondary list we checked put the Diverge 4 at 55 mm. Specialized's own Diverge 4 product pages say 50 mm, so we use 50 mm. Third-party figures for other models may also differ from the brands.
• Model years. Most brand pages describe the "current" bike without a model year. Where the page names a generation (Diverge 4, Crux 5, Áspero MK1), we give it. Otherwise we say "current model" and the check date. Older frames under the same name may differ.
• Measured or nominal. Only Cannondale, Canyon (Grizl) and Trek (Checkpoint SL Gen 3) say their figure is a measured width. For the rest, we cannot tell whether the number is a measured width or a sidewall size.
• Models we left out. Allied Able, Lauf Seigla, BMC Kaius, Scott Addict Gravel, Ari Shafer, Argon 18 Dark Matter and others appear on third-party lists. We could not load a brand page with a stated clearance for them during this check, so they are not in the chart yet.
• Prices: none listed.

Spot a change? Email [email protected] and we will update it.

Sources

• Canyon, Grail: https://www.canyon.com/en-us/gravel-bikes/all-road/grail/
• Canyon, Grizl CF 7: https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/gravel-bikes/adventure/grizl/cf/grizl-cf-7/4553.html
• Specialized, Crux 5 Comp: https://www.specialized.com/us/en/crux-5-comp-sram-rival-xplr/p/4294832
• Specialized, Crux Frameset (previous generation): https://www.specialized.com/us/en/crux-frameset/p/205814
• Specialized, Diverge 4 Sport Carbon: https://www.specialized.com/us/en/diverge-4-sport-carbon-shimano-grx-600/p/4223514
• Giant, Revolt 0: https://www.giant-bicycles.com/gb/revolt-0
• Giant, Revolt 0 spec sheet (PDF): https://static.giant-bicycles.com/pdf/giant-revolt-0-en-gb-4127.pdf
• Cannondale, Topstone Carbon 1 AXS: https://www.cannondale.com/en-us/bikes/road/gravel/topstone-carbon/topstone-carbon-1-axs
• Trek, Checkpoint: https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/checkpoint/
• Trek, Checkpoint SL Gen 3 FAQ: https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/FAQ/checkpoint-sl-gen3/
• Orbea, Terra: https://www.orbea.com/ie-en/bicycles/road/terra/
• Orbea, Terra Race: https://www.orbea.com/en-int/m/terra-race
• Cervélo, Áspero (2023): https://www.cervelo.com/en-US/bikes/aspero-2023
• Cervélo, Áspero-5: https://www.cervelo.com/en-US/bikes/aspero-5
• Bicycle Rolling Resistance, The Rim Width Test: https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/specials/rim-width-test
• Cervélo, Áspero Disc MK1 support: https://www.cervelo.com/en-US/support/ASPERO%20DISC%20MK1